Y is worth saving

From today’s editorials: The Washington Avenue Y may need more time than management has given it. It deserves it — if the community support is there.

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There is little disagreement between the management of the Washington Avenue YMCA and those who want to save it from closure that the Y should have a lot more members than it does. It’s not hard to see why it doesn’t.

It’s a usable enough place — if your priorities don’t include things like a sparkling modern facility and convenient free parking. For better or worse, though, those are priorities for a lot of people.

And for the same price, or a few hundred dollars more a year, they can get all that, and more, elsewhere. They can go to newer Ys in North Albany or in Albany’s suburbs, or to private facilities.

So the Washington Avenue Y has fallen on hard times, plagued with an aging building, plummeting membership and an annual deficit in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. All of which raise the question: Is it worth saving?

We think so. The Washington Avenue Y is more than just another health club. It is a community institution, and one of the threads of downtown Albany’s quality of life. Lose it, and the heart of Albany loses an important piece of its fabric.
But warm sentiments don’t pay the bills, nor do the thousands of members who have left the Y over the years. David Brown, executive director of the Capital District YMCA, says the 1,800 families left aren’t enough. If the Y is to remain, he says, that number needs to grow to 2,550 by April, and 3,500 by the end of the year.
If Albany reflects the nation, about 15 percent of its population — more than 13,000 people — would be enrolled in some kind of fitness club. Why don’t more choose this Y?
Some things are apparent, beyond the building’s age. There is the competition, from other Ys and health clubs. Most parking isn’t right up front and the Albany Parking Authority decided to start charging for two of the three nearby public parking lots.
It’s encouraging that a task force is working to boost enrollment, holding membership drives while the Y offers significantly reduced rates. City Hall also needs to see what it can do to help, even with its own budget problems. At the very least, the parking authority should consider whether it is working at cross purposes to the goal of making downtown inviting to guests and residents.
And the Y’s building is overdue for a fresh look. What would it take to modernize or even replace it? Could it serve a broader mission, hosting other community tenants?
Mr. Brown’s membership goals are not unrealistic, but his deadlines are. Increasing membership by more than 40 percent in four months, in a recession, is a goal that even the most ambitious enterprise would be hard pressed to achieve. Surely more modest but measurable progress would be a sign that, as so many believe, the Y is worth a little more sweat.